Chris’s Comments (group member since Feb 25, 2011)

Chris’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Just picked up Some of the Best from Tor.com, available free in most ebook formats. It's a collection of short fiction from 2019. Pick up your own copy while it's available -- the price is right!

For the first quarter of this book, I just wanted to shake Fitz. Bee's been taken! Go after her! But, of course, he had no way of knowing. Robin Hobb has such a command of the physical realities of her world, that we know it takes four days to journey to Buckkeep, and four days back ….. and no one to skill, or send a bird ….

Fitz certainly has his shortcomings, but he is often trying to play too many roles and satisfy too many people. Everyone seems disappointed … the Fool wants to him to kill the Servants, Chade wants him to be a spy, Dutiful wants him to be a prince, Bee needs a father. He's pulled in too many directions, and he disappoints both others and himself.

Hobb paces her story so well. Often I'd tell myself I'd read just one more chapter, then find such a cliffhanger that I had to go on. I stayed up way too late, too many nights!

Fleeter and Per are wonderful characters. We may even come to like Lant; he's trying to improve himself. We didn't see much of Bee, but her cleverness saved Shun (although Shun doesn't seem to realize it). The Fool's stories of abuse almost broke me; I hated seeing him suffer, but I have to think that the dragon blood will be problematic. We can also see the threads across all the series arcs come together, as Fitz and his company attempt to enlist help at Kelsingra.

I love these books. Only one more left ….

I can see your point, Oleksandr. But I think of it more as an updated Conan the Barbarian story, for example, or Leiber’s Fafrd and the Grey Mouser.

Jim wrote: "I'm envious of having a list of all the books in the house. I've tried a couple of times, but never got far. There are several thousand & they're changing a fair amount. Also, I always want to incl..."

I use LibraryThing (www.librarything.com) to catalog my books. It has a bar code scanner for newer books; for older books, you can manually enter an ISBN code (without the dashes), or look up the book by name or author to see if someone else has already catalogued it. And I can access it on the web, or from an app on my iPhone or iPad. I'm not sure of the current terms; it's free for a small collection, or a small lifetime fee for larger.

About a third of my physical collection is speculative fiction. I specifically collect Hugo and Nebula winners, but also works that complete those series, and then just works that I like a lot. I even have a "Wishlist" collection in LibraryThing so that, as I visit used book stores, I can avoid double purchases.

I like the "best of of 2019" lists! Here's mine:

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
Senlin Ascends (and the rest of the Babel series) by Josiah Bancroft
The True Queen by Zen Cho
The Raven Tower by Ann Lecki
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
Circe by Madeline Miller
Sorcerer's Legacy by Janny Wurts
The Long Price Quartet, by Daniel Abraham
A Late Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. L. Parker
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury
The Postman by David Brin
The Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Out of genre:
The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

This is a hard book to read, as is most post-apocalyptic fiction. The inhumanity of mankind is a constant theme. Lauren isn't even particularly likeable; she's hard, she's had to learn to be. Suffering from hyper-empathy has forced her to draw herself away from people, to wall herself off as much as possible.

Yet despite the horrific world, she is learning to adapt, and to encourage others to do so. She calls it Earthseed; a way of embracing change, with a destiny to reach for the stars. I admit, the stars seem entirely out of reach when you don't know if you'll have food and shelter tomorrow. But at least by adapting, and rebuilding communities to thrive in the present (rather than wishing the "good old days" would return), the community has hope.

I read this book several years ago, but this time it seemed to hit me more personally. My faith congregation to which I've belonged for more than 30 years is experiencing some turbulence. No matter how things evolve, there will be change. Lauren's "God is Change" message was a timely reminder to continue to look for God's plan as we adapt to the new situation.

This book was nominated for the Nebula prize.

I really enjoyed this book. It's straightforward swords-and-horses fantasy, no magical beasts or fairies. But Orhan, the narrator, is just so engaging! Entirely pragmatic, more concerned about workable solutions than personal glory. He earns the loyalty of his close circle of friends. He's someone I'd like to know personally.

But this is despite every disadvantage. For those who don't know him individually, he's a "white face" in a world of ruling blues. His solutions repeatedly save the city, yet he is never trusted by any faction. He has opportunities to join the other white face forces, yet something like duty or loyalty keeps him on the job.

Towards the end of the book, he describes himself as an untrustworthy narrator. Yet I don't feel that he seemed to overinflate his own importance; he was constantly being saved by his bodyguard, or reminded of an important omission by one of the troops. I have to think he's about as trustworthy as any ordinary person could be ...

Jane wrote: "I have this one on !y kindle, but only finished Parable of the Sower today. Intend to start 16 Ways... But not sure if I will get it read in time to take part in this dicussion."

Jane, our book discussions always remain open, and you can contribute at any time. The book-specific discussion folders remain on the discussions page for three months. After three months, the discussions move to the Previous Books of the Month folder. But all threads remain open so, no matter when you get to the book, you can always join in.

Welcome to January! Depending on how you look at it, we are either starting a brand new decade, or we're in the home stretch of the previous decade. Regardless of how you count the decades, January is a perfect time to recover from the holiday bustle with a good book.

Books of the Month - For January, you selected:

--January 2020 Science Fiction: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
--January 2020 Fantasy: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker

There are a couple of starter topics up for each book, but please feel free to start more.

We also have our schedule set for the next couple of months:

--February 2020 Science Fiction: Excession by Iain M. Banks
--February 2020 Fantasy: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
-- March 2020 Science Fiction: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
-- March 2020 Fantasy: How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

Series news - We're currently in the final trilogy (Fitz and the Fool) of our Realm of the Elderlings (by Robin Hobb) series read. We are currently reading Fool's Assassin and will begin discussion on Fool's Quest on January 15. It is never too late to chime in on our discussion threads! If you would like to get involved, visit our Realm of the Elderlings discussion folder.

Lastly - Don't forget to drop by the What are you reading in January 2020? thread to share your picks, pans, and progress for the month!

Happy Reading!

Chris, for the mods

Post here if you are reading or planning to read Parable of the Sower. No spoilers, please!

Post here to discuss Parable of the Sower. Warning, spoilers ahead!

Post here if you are reading or planning to read Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City. No spoilers, please!

Post here to discuss Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City. Warning, spoilers ahead!

I’d say that I couldn’t put it down, but that would be a terrible exaggeration. This book is long! But I really do love this series, and this book.

I am amazed at the stretch of time included in this book, I think at least 15 years. And yet the flow of time is dealt with effortlessly. Once Bee enters the scene, I enjoyed seeing the point of view move back and forth between Bee and Fitz. In some ways they are so alike, both loners and a bit prickly, and both liable both to misunderstand and to be misunderstood. Yet there is so much love in their relationship, if only they could both be more demonstrative!

This is a re-read of the series for me, so I need to be careful not to give anything away. Memorable moments included Molly’s unwavering defense of Bee, the appearance of Wolf Father, and the heartbreaking appearance of the Fool.

Can’t wait for next month....

I nominate The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams. I just started it, but it’s snarky and fun, and there’s an exploding spaceship!

Paolo Bacigalupi signed my copy: "May we find our way to a better future than this one." Amen!

I read this with the group the last time, but I think I appreciate it even more with the re-read. The world-building is exceptional, building on climate and agriculture trends visible today. The whole question of the rights of "new persons" echoes stories of human trafficking that are as old as time and as fresh as tonight's news.

I don't think I can say that I enjoyed the story. I didn't particularly like the characters, and it's a brutal world. But I do think it's a story that's worth reading and sharing.

I didn't like this at first. The villain was cruel, seemingly without reason. I didn't understand why we needed to discard children's lives so casually, and why it was necessary to keep the twins apart. I did like the parts of the story that involved the twins learning about each other, though.

As this (very long) book went on, I did enjoy the story more, probably because it focused more on the twins relationship. It's not one of my favorite Seanan McGuire's, but I liked it well enough in the end.

I just finished The Starless Sea, and it's one of the most beautiful books I've read in a long time. It has the same magical quality and in-depth worldbuild as her The Night Circus, but it is completely standalone. I couldn't put this down!

Oleksandr wrote: "Read it as my first Paolo Bacigalupi book and was so impressed with it that got everything I can by him. There are two short stories linked to the novel, Calorie Man and "Yellow Ca..."

Thanks for sharing the link to the short stories. I'll definitely check them out!

Welcome to December! There's a nip in the air as we enter the holiday season; depending on your location, you may even be dealing with a snowfall. Regardless of the weather, December is a perfect time to plan a break from holiday bustle with a good book.

Books of the Month - For December, you selected:

--December 2019 Science Fiction: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
--December 2019 Fantasy: Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

There are a couple of starter topics up for each book, but please feel free to start more.

We also have our schedule set for the next couple of months:

--January 2020 Science Fiction: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
--January 2020 Fantasy: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
--February 2020 Science Fiction: Excession by Iain M. Banks
--February 2020 Fantasy: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Series news - We're currently in between story arcs in our Realm of the Elderlings (by Robin Hobb) series read. We are reading the prequel The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince before starting the final trilogy arc of the series on December 15. It is never too late to chime in our our discussion threads! If you would like to get involved, visit our Realm of the Elderlings discussion folder.

Lastly - Don't forget to drop by the What are you reading in December 2019? thread to share your picks, pans, and progress for the month!

Happy Reading!

Chris, for the mods